Chapter 18
Locating the fairy and convincing him to reveal the location of the local rave turned out to be easier than Tia expected. Probably because she’d hit him with a love spell that had him on his knees the second Lynch managed to track him to the dingy demon bar. In between loudly proclaiming his devotion, he’d offered an address, along with the assurance that the rave was indeed being held tonight, although he’d sworn off attending t he dodgy event.
She taken time to scrub his mind of any memory of her before they were driving the short distance to an industrial neighborhood that was empty at the late hour.
They parked the expensive vehicle in one of the empty lots before angling toward a long, narrow structure that was built out of concrete bricks with bars on the narrow windows and a flat roof. Tia grimaced. Not because the area smelled of diesel and old tires, but because there was a low, obnoxious bass pounding through the air that was threatening to give h er a headache.
The fairy hadn’t been lying. The rave was going in full force, if the music was any thing to go by.
“I assume we must be close?” she muttered dryly.
Lynch strolled next to her, his head swiveling from side to side as he kept watch for any danger. “There’s an entrance at the end of the building.” He at last pointed toward a small steel door that was set into the concrete blocks. The outline of a male casually leaning against the building was visible in the flickering light from the Exit sign. “I’ll deal with the bouncer,” Lynch promised with obviou s anticipation.
She reached to touch his arm, bringing him to a h alt. “No need.”
“Why not? I can handle a fairy, ” he protested.
“Sometimes, Lynch, a scalpel is more efficient than a hammer,” sh e reminded him.
Disappointment rippled over his square face. “We’re goin g to sneak in?”
Tia grimaced at the mere thought of entering the filthy warehouse where a hundred or more demons were smashed together as they sweated and danced to ear-piercing music. It was truly her v ersion of hell.
“We’re going to wait for the transportation,” she clarified, her gaze searching thei r surroundings.
Lynch looked predictably confused. “What t ransportation?”
“The fairy told you that he was taken from the rave by a bus, remember?”
“Yeah, but they aren’t going to the island anym ore, are they?”
“Probably not, but unless they’ve relocated to a place that’s walking distance from here, they’re still going to have to drive the demons to where they’re going to be sacrificed.”
“Oh. Right.”
“They won’t come to the front door. That would be too obvious,” she abruptly decided. “We need to get to the other side of the building.”
Not giving her servant the opportunity to protest, Tia turned around and briskly followed the parking lot to the back of the building, her heels clicking on the asphalt. She nodded her head in satisfaction as she caught sight of the line of metal overhead doors that were cut into the cement blocks. This was clearly the loading area for the warehouse. A perfect place to slip the demons out o f the building.
“What if they don’t come here to collect any sacrifices tonight?” Lynch asked, halting at the corner of the building to pull out a cigarett e and light it.
Tia shrugged, refusing to contemplate failure. It simply wasn’t in her vocabulary.
“Then we keep searchin g,” she warned.
“Gotcha.” Lynch blew out a cloud of smoke, careful to keep it away from her. There was a short silence, or at least as silent as it could be with the music vibrating through the night air. “Do you think it’s him?” Lynch abruptly asked.
Tia absently reached into the pocket of her tailored jacket to touch the small beads that were loaded with potions. It was more a stress reliever than a reminder that she was carrying powerful weapons. Like Lynch’s cigarettes, only without the nicotine. Or gagging smoke.
“I don’t know,” she forced herself to say, despite the dread that had been gnawing at her since the vision of Batu had brought her to New York. “I really don’t.”
“If it is?”
“I’m going to destro y the bastard.”
“An d if it isn’t?”
Tia shrugged. She had been around long enough to know there was a possibility that someone was trying to screw with her by conjuring the image of Batu. Her past wasn’t a secret, and she had numerous enemies with the time and money to lure her into an e laborate trap.
“I’m still going to destroy them,” she said with a bl unt confidence.
“Why bother?” Lynch released another puff of smoke. “Becaus e of the mage?”
Tia’s brows snapped to gether. “What?”
Lynch turned his head to send her a curious glance. “Aren’t you doing this fo r your friend?”
“I don’t hav e any friends.”
With a rare lack of subservience, Lynch continued, refusing to heed the edge of warning in her voice. “There wasn’t any reason for you to leave the protection of your estate,” he pointed out. “Your enemy would eventually have been forced to travel to Colorado if they really wanted to hurt you. Far better to face them directly on you r home ground.”
He spoke the truth. Tactically it made zero sense to leave the layers of security she’d woven around Emerald Glade and travel to New York. Even if Batu had returned from the dead, there was no need to hunt him down. Eventually he would have tried to seek his revenge. Far better to be surrounded by her treasure trove of magical artifact s and potions.
As much as she hated to admit it, a part of her had rushed to New York because she knew that Maya woul d be in danger.
“I might be a selfish bitch, but I always pay my debts,” she at last conceded. “If it hadn’t been for Maya, I would have died in Batu’s lair....” Her words trailed away as the sound of an approaching vehicle rumbled through the air. “Lynch,” she murmured, pressing her back against the building to blend in to the shadows.
Lynch tossed his cigarette on the ground and crushed the glowing ember ben eath his heel.
“I see it.” He nodded toward the rusty blue vehicle that looked more like an extended van than a bus.
Tia arched a brow. Whoever supervised the cult was obviously working with a budget. Odd. Batu had been many things...cruel, vindictive, and greedy...but he’d ne ver been cheap.
“Stay here,” she murmured as the van parked next to one of the loading docks.
Pulling a bead out of her pocket, Tia squeezed the glass, releasing a mist that circled around her, wrapping her in a web of magic. It didn’t make her invisible, but it reflected the light enough to shroud her in a thick darkness. Cautiously moving forward, she halted a few feet from the van as a narrow steel door opened and a tall, slender fairy stepped out of the building. She could see the female’s red-gold hair, which was shaved on the sides and teased high in the middle. Her silver lamé dress barely covered her ass as she jogged down the cement stairs. She looked like a bougie brat until Tia caught sight of the automatic weapon casually gripped in one hand and the dagger peeking beneath the he m of her dress.
A dangero us bougie brat.
As she reached the bottom step, a male goblin stepped out of the van, predictably wearing a leather jacket and matching pants. His head was shaved and his expres sion was hard.
“How many?” he demanded, pushing open a sliding door on the side of the vehicle.
“Five,” the fairy answered.
“Five?” The goblin shook his head. “She’s not goin g to be happy.”
The fairy shrugg ed. “Fuck her.”
The goblin snorted. “Easy to say when she c an’t hear you.”
She . Tia tucked away the surprising realization that the leader was a female. At least, whoever was dealing with the sacrifice s was a female.
“Look, it is what it is,” the fairy drawled, as if bored by the conversation. “Do you wan t them or not?”
“Bring ’em out,” the goblin growled, reaching beneath his open jacket to pull out a long envelope.
The fairy leaned forward to snatch it from his fingers before turning and sashaying back up the steps. Payment for her services, Tia assumed, impatiently waiting for the female to disappear into the building so the driver would stop ogling her ass and return to his pl ace in the van.
After what felt like an eternity, the goblin at last headed back to settle in the driver’s seat and Tia darted forward to place her fingers on the dented bumper. She usually didn’t have to touch an object to cast a tracking spell, but if Maya was right and there was a mage involved, there might be a spell attached to the vehicle to prevent it from being followed.
Tia wanted to make damned sure they didn’t lose the van as soon as it left the parking lot. This was their best opportunity to discover the master or mistress of the m ysterious cult.
There was a tingle of power as she released her magic, followed by a firm tug as the spell snapped into place. A second later, she scurried back into the shadows as the steel door was shoved open and a high-pitched giggle echoed through the parking lot. She managed to disappear into the shadows when the first of the sacrifices skipped down the steps and into the van. She was a young fairy dressed in expensive clothes with the vacant expression of someone high on drugs. Next were two male goblins who leaned against each other as they stumbled down the stairs, barely able to stand upright. There was another female fairy, this one older, with a hardened expression that suggested she no longer cared what the future hel d. Good or bad.
The last victim trailed behind the others, covered from head to foot in a sparkly silver cape with a large fur-trimmed hood over his head to hide his features. Tia frowned, wondering if it was some sort of fashion statement; then the head abruptly swiveled to the side and she could see a face covered by a massive beard. The male paused, one brilliant green eye closing as if he was winking in her direction before he scooted down the stairs and pushed his wa y into the van.
Tia’s breath was squeezed from her lungs.
Joe.
“ What the hell?”
Trying to wrap her brain around the fact that the strange creature had just waltzed past her and jumped into the van, Tia was left staring at the taillights as the vehicle pulled away and headed out of the lot with sq uealing tires.
It wasn’t until Lynch suddenly appeared beside her that she was shaken out of her sense of stu nned disbelief.
“Is so mething wrong?”
“So many things,” Tia muttered, squaring her shoulders as she turned toward her servant. Right now the only thing that mattered was finding out where the van was going, and who was waiting when they reached their destination. “Get the car.”
* * * *
The Dead Badger was exactly what you would expect from a demon bar. The long, narrow building was squeezed between a bodega and a transmission garage with wooden booths along the walls and a bar shaped like a U in the middle.
Stepping through the door, Ravyr cast a jaundiced glance around the rough crowd. Most of the goblins and fairies mingled at the back, shooting pool or playing darts, although there were several who sat at the bar, downing tankards of grog with a speed that would make a dragon proud.
Two-for-one night was obviously a big hit with the heavy drinkers.
“Is there a reason we’re at this particular establishment?” he demanded as Maya moved to stand at his side. “I’m hoping it’s not for the ambiance.”
She wrinkled her nose. “It does have a sticky-floor, rat-i nfested charm.”
Ravyr didn’t think she was joking about the rats. There was the distinct smell of vermin fused with sour sweat a nd stale grog.
“Not the sort of charm that would attract a woman like Alison,” he pointed out.
“No,” she readily agreed. “But I’m not sure where to start sear ching for her.”
“Then what are we doing here?”
“When I was talking to Tia about necromancers I suddenly remembered something I’d smelled a f ew months ago.”
Ravyr arched a brow. His acutely fine-tuned senses were usually a gift. There was no creature who could equal him when it came to hunting his prey. But the heavy stench that permeated the room felt like a ph ysical assault.
“You sm elled it here?”
She shook her head. “No, but the demon who owned the shop where I did smell it s hould be here.”
“Who?”
“Hexx.”
Ravyr dredged through his memories to put a face to the name. “The demon who pla nted the bomb?”
“T hat’s the one.”
“Why not go to his apartment?” he asked in confusion. “I doubt he’s going to give us any information without...” He searched for a word that didn’t make it sound like he was going to have to beat it out of the idiot. “Encouragement. Wouldn’t it be better to question h im in private?”
Her lips twisted into a cynical smile. “Just being here is all the encouragement we need. Hexx would rather be flayed and rolled in salt than to be seen talking to me in public.”
“Seriously?”
With a shrug she headed toward the center of the room, her head swiveling from side to side as she searched for her prey. “I’ve spent the past decade selling curses, truth serums, and love potions that were used against thousands of demons in this city,” she reminded him, her chin tilted at a defiant angle as the closest demons glanced in her direction and abruptly froze in fear. “It doesn’t make me the most p opular person.”
Her chin remained high as she continued forward, ignoring the large goblin who glanced up from the bar in the center of the room. He had a mohawk and a dozen piercings and looked like the sort of male who regularly thrashed any customer stupid enough to cause trouble in his establishment, but the moment he caught sight of Maya his face turned white and the tankard he was holding crashed to th e wooden floor.
“Ah. Your reputation precedes you,” he murmured, enjoying the fear that pulsed through the bar as the customers recognized the powerful mage.
This woman had carved out her place in this dangerous city, and the demons understood the cost of c hallenging her.
“Exactly,” she said, her t one distracted.
Ravyr walked close behind her, protecting her back. Most of the demons might be afraid, but there was always one in the crowd who wanted to prove he w as a tough guy.
“What makes you think Hexx will be here toni ght?” he asked.
“I had to come to this place a few months ago and I noticed that sign promoting two-for-one grog night on Wednesdays.” She pointed toward the large sign that was hung above the bar. It was faded enough to reveal that it wasn’t a special promotion but an ongoing marketing strategy. “Hexx lives a couple of blocks away. I doubt he’d miss the chance fo r free drinks.”
“Clever.”
She glanced over her shoulder. “I’m not just anothe r pretty face.”
He wiggled his brows like a villain in a cheesy human movie as he allowed his gaze to sweep down her body. “True. You have gorgeous curves and an—”
“Careful.”
He chuckled as a portion of her tension thankfully eased. “Always,” he assu red her softly.
Turning her attention back to the crowd, she made a sound of satisfaction. “There he is.”
She nodded toward the goblin with long, stringy hair who was hunched in the corner of a booth, as if he was trying to hide in the shadows. Odd for a demon who’d gone to the trouble of tattooing crimson flames along the line of his jaw and chosen to wear a black leather jacket and heavy chains around his neck as if he was some s ort of badass.
Then again, Hexx hadn’t impressed him as a particularly inte lligent goblin.
With a smooth elegance, Maya slid onto the bench across the table from the pathetic creature. Ravyr remained standing. They’d been caught off guard too many times for him to take any risks. Nothing and no one was getting close to Maya without coming thr ough him first.
As if realizing he was no longer alone, Hexx lifted his head to regard Maya with a blurry gaze.
“Shit.” His skinny body tensed as he stared at his companion in horror. “This can’t be real.” Without warning, he banged his head on the table in frustration. “Someone cursed me, right? How do I get rid of it? How do I g et rid of you ?”
Maya rolled her eyes. “Stop bein g such a baby.”
“Baby?” Hexx leaned forward. “From the moment you entered my pawnshop my life has gone to hell,” he hissed. “I’ve lo st everything.”
Maya folded her arms on the table, her expression icy enough to rival a vampire. “Answer my questions and I ’ll disappear.”
“You keep promising me that even though I’ve told you everything I know.” The goblin sounded like a petulant child. “Why don’t you go bother som e other demon?”
Ravyr released a low growl, an icy breeze cutting through the stuffy air as he leaned towa rd the goblin.
“Adjust your attitude,” he warne d. “Or I will.”
“Okay, okay.” Hexx hunched his shoulders, glaring at Maya. “What informatio n do you want?”
“Who supplied you with the black-market inventory you were selling out of the back of your pawnshop?”
There was a startled silence, and Hexx looked as caught off guard by the questio n as Ravyr was.
“You mean the stuff that was all confiscated by Valen?” Hexx aske d in confusion.
“Yes.”
Hexx held up his hand. “Hey, if you’re here to accuse me of something, I swear I don’t deal in magical artifacts any more. I swear.”
“All I want is information about a spec ific customer.”
“Oh.” Something that might have been relief rippled over the narr ow face. “Why?”
“During my brief visit to your pawnshop I recall a sweet, musty scent coming from one of the boxes hidden in your storage room.”
“I had a bunch of magical junk. I don’t know what any of it was used for.” He grimaced . “Mage stuff.”
Ravyr believed the male would buy and sell illegal items without any clue if they might be dangerous. Demons possessed a few magical items, but they were completely different from mages or witches. And far too rare to fall into the hands of a lo w-level goblin.
“The smell was belladonna and no mage would have any use for it,” Maya clarified.
Hexx stiffened, and Ravyr abruptly understood why they were at the Dead Badger. And why Maya had sought out this demon.
“Maybe not, but humans will buy anything if you tell them it has magic in it.” The goblin was trying to bluff. Ravyr knew it.
“Not belladonna,” Maya insisted. “It’s specifically used by necromancers.”
Hexx rolled his eyes, clinging to a pretense of confusion. “There’s no such thing.”
Maya leaned forward, her expression grim. “We both know that there are witches who believe it’s possible to r aise the dead.”
“Like I said, humans will buy anything.”
“Gi ve me a name.”
“Name?” Hexx released a forced laugh. “Do you know how many customers I’ve had over the years? Thousands. I can’t remembe r all of them.”
“You wouldn’t have specifically ordered belladonna unless someone requested it.”
“Of course I would. I have all kinds of shit.”
“Fine.” Maya held Hexx’s wary gaze as she casually lifted her hand and gestured toward the bartender, motioning him in the direction of the booth. “We’ll have a round of grog while you tr y to remember.”
Hexx licked his lips. “You can’t expect me to put a name to all my customers. That’s insane.”
Ravyr reluctantly stepped aside as he felt the bartender approach the table, his fangs fully exposed in warning. Maya simply smiled as she glanced tow ard the demon.
“Three grogs and keep them coming. We’re going to be her e for a while.”
The bartender visibly ground his teeth, glaring at Hexx before turning away and stomping b ack to the bar.
Hexx gulped. “You know what, I actually just remembered that I have someth ing I need to—”
“Stay where you are,” Ravyr growled, blo cking his exit.
“Yeesh.” Hexx held up his hands, as if to prove he wasn’t a threat. “This is bullshit.” He returned his attention to Maya. “What did I e ver do to you?”
“Are you kidding me? You nearly destroyed the world when you helped kidnap my best friend and the Cabal leader of New Orleans a f ew months ago.”
Hexx hunched his shoulders. “I didn’t know what was going to happen, did I?”
“Because yo u didn’t care.”
“Here.” The bartender slammed down three tankards of grog, pointing a finger in Hexx’s face. “Dri nk ’em and go.”
“Crap,” Hexx muttered, grabbing one of the tankards to take a deep drink. “You’re going to get me banned from my favorite bar.”
“Then talk,” Maya commanded.
“And you’ll leave?” Hexx polished off the last of his grog and reached for another tankard. “You promise?”
“I’ll leave.” Maya slid her hand to the center of the table, the wood beneath her palms suddenly smoldering as if it was being charred by her mere touch. “But if I find out you lied to me, I’ll return to place a curse on you that will shrivel your bits and pieces into dried-up ra isins. Got it?”
Hexx jerked back, his face paling. “Do you have to be so mean?”
“You have no idea, ” she murmured.
Muttering under his breath, Hexx lifted the second tankard and chugged the grog before he loudly burped. As if hoping it would gi ve him courage.
“Okay, but if word gets out that I’m a snitch I’m going to be punished,” he whined. “ Seve rely punished.”
“Being a snitch is the least of your concerns,” Ravyr snarled.
Hexx scowled, but his gaze remained locked on Maya. Smart male. Ravyr could rip out his throat, but Maya could make him regret e ver being born.
“Alright. Fine.” He conceded defeat. “There’s a coven of witches who regularly order the stuff. I don’t know what they do with it and I don’t care.”
“A name,” Maya demanded.
“The Divinity of the Darkness.”
Ravyr studied Maya’s delicate profile. “Have yo u heard of it?”
“No.” Her attention was locked on Hexx. “Is it local?”
“I have no idea.”
Maya’s jaw tightened, emphasizing her deep scars. “Who picks up the boxes?”
“And older woman. Lettie?” Hexx furrowed his brow. It looked like it was a struggle to search through his memory. “No, Lottie. Lottie...somet hing or other.”
“Lottie Howard,” Maya breathed. “Silver-haired woman who looks like a sweet old grandma who bakes cookies?”
Hexx snapped his finger s. “That’s it.”
Ravyr watched as Maya pursed her lips. “Obviously you recognize her,” he said.
Maya nodded. “When I first settled in New Jersey, she had a large coven that was in total control of the East Coast. She seemed to think that sheer numbers gave her the right to tell me what I could and couldn’t do in her territory.”
Ravyr arched a brow. “I bet that w ent over well.”
A humorless smile curved Maya’s lips. “She lost most of her coven when I cursed her with dysentery. I heard that she was in misery for several weeks.”
“Damn, woman,” Hexx muttered. “That’s cold.”
Maya shrugged. “It was temporary, and I knew that Lottie wouldn’t leave me in peace until she’d learned her lesson. She desperately wanted to prove that a witch was as powerfu l as any mage.”
Ravyr understood Maya’s dramatic response. Unless you nipped trouble in the bud, it would always come back to bite you in the ass. Mixed metap hors, but true.
“Did she practice necroma ncy?” he asked.
Maya slowly shook her head. “I’ve never heard any rumors about it, but I haven’t had any contact with her or her coven for years.” She considered for a long moment. “Maybe she hoped to amp up her powers by rai sing the dead.”
It wasn’t a bad theory. An ambitious witch would realize that she could never match a mage in head-to-head power. She would need an extra boost of magic to challenge Maya.
“Where ca n we find her?”
“She used to gather her coven in an abandoned grain elevator in Brooklyn.” Maya tapped the tip of her finger on the table. “More than likely she’s still using t he same place.”
Ravyr nodded. It took years for a coven to purify the land before they could build their altars and call on the spirits of nature. They wouldn’t leave it unless it was tainted or they were forced off the property.
“You won’t get in,” Hexx abruptly intruded into the conversation, setting aside his empty tankard before grabbing number three. “The coven didn’t just order belladonna. They recently bought several high-powered rifles and automatic weapons. Obviously they were serious abou t trespassers.”
Ravyr peeled back his lips to reveal his fangs. “I’m not afraid of human weapons.”
Hexx pressed himself tight into the corner, the tankard held in front of him like a shield. “Fine, whatever. I was just giving you a heads-up. Now...go away.”
Maya reached into her satchel to pull out a wad of folded bills, tossing them onto the table before she slid out of the booth. Then, without another glance toward the anxious demons monitoring her every movement, she headed out of the bar and crossed toward the waiting SUV. She paused long enough for the chauffeur to roll down his window so she could give him the address before climbing into the back. Ravyr quickly joined her, and with a low hum, the vehicle pulled into the traffic and headed t oward Brooklyn.